title: Distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in an urban riparian zone affected by wastewater treatment plant effluent and the transfer to terrestrial compartment by invertebrates.
abstract: In this study, we investigated the distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a riparian zone affected by the effluent from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). River water, sediment, aquatic invertebrates and samples from the surrounding terrestrial compartment such as soil, reed plants and several land based invertebrates were collected. A relatively narrow range of δ(13)C values was found among most invertebrates (except butterflies, grasshoppers), indicating a similar energy source. The highest concentration of total PCBs was observed in zooplankton (151.1 ng/g lipid weight), and soil dwelling invertebrates showed higher concentrations than phytophagous insects at the riparian zone. The endobenthic oligochaete Tubifex tubifex (54.28 ng/g lw) might be a useful bioindicator of WWTP derived PCBs contamination. High bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were observed in collected aquatic invertebrates, although the biota-sediment/soil accumulation factors (BSAF) remained relatively low. Emerging aquatic insects such as chironomids could carry waterborne PCBs to the terrestrial compartment via their lifecycles. The estimated annual flux of PCBs for chironomids ranged from 0.66 to 265 ng⋅m(-2)⋅y(-1). Although a high prevalence of PCB-11 and PCB-28 was found for most aquatic based samples in this riparian zone, the mid-chlorinated congeners (e.g. PCB-153 and PCB-138) became predominant among chironomids and dragonflies as well as soil dwelling invertebrates, which might suggest a selective biodriven transfer of different PCB congeners.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Junchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Thanh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shanlong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guibin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D002683:Chironomidae / Q000378:metabolism; D007313:Insecta / Q000378:metabolism; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D012987:Soil; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C029906:3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl; C081766:2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Invertebrates; PCB-11; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Riparian zone; Wastewater effluent